Cain was on the Steve Gill Show yesterday when the radio host asked, "If Mitt calls you today and says, 'OK, Herman, who should I pick?' who would you recommend?"

"Col. Allen West out of Florida," Cain said. "He is well-spoken, he is direct, people in Florida love him, he has a huge following, he is from Florida. Florida is going to be one of those key states, but more importantly Col. Allen West is a dedicated patriot."

Somebody's excited.

"My advice to him if, he were to ask me, is you, you, you serve your country well, and now you have a higher calling," Cain added.

Talk of nominating Allen "You Attacked Us" West is slowly starting to work its way out of the tea party comment threads and into the media -- Sarah Palin has floated West's name twice, though her answers and half-answers are so convoluted, you can't be blamed for missing it. West, for his part, has said he's "willing and ready" to serve if asked.

But there's no indication that he has been, or will be, and the two people who have pushed his name so far are both... unemployed. Yes, his name's getting thrown around. But it's by a former governor who ditched her state and a pizza king who paid women to keep sexual-misconduct allegations quiet. Neither of them is elected to anything, and only one of them actually ran for something this cycle. Not the kind of thing you put on your LinkedIn.